Chapter 54: Finally using the skills

Arthur sent Sofia a message.

"If you can reach this location within 30 minutes, I’ll give you something good."

After sending the message, he walked toward the Orion Shelter.

The Orion Shelter contained around 80,000 monsters, four thousand bosses, and a Legendary Grade final boss guarding it. This time, Arthur decided to finally use magic, the actual power of a mage-type class.

As soon as he entered the shelter, the monsters let out deafening roars.

"Absolute Zero," he muttered.

Instantly, an ice domain with a radius of 134 meters appeared around him. The temperature within the domain plummeted to -230°C.

Although the skill was called Absolute Zero, his current Spirit Value was not enough to reach the actual absolute zero temperature. Even so, the temperature was still low enough to kill all low-grade monsters below Level 50.

One point of mana was consumed every second as soon as he activated the domain.

The monsters that entered his domain instantly froze into ice popsicles. Their bodies became motionless, covered in thick layers of ice, as Arthur continued walking forward.

More monsters kept rushing toward him.

And this was only the beginning.

Arthur was about to try all the powers he had gained from his ten God Rank generals.

"World Decimation."

Boom!

The space within the domain suddenly cracked. The terrifying spatial fluctuations spread outward, and the monsters that had survived Absolute Zero were instantly reduced to cosmic particles.

"Eternal Hellfire."

A ball of dark crimson flame emerged from Arthur’s hand. He casually threw it toward the incoming monsters, and the flame rapidly expanded as it flew through the air.

The damage of Eternal Hellfire depended on the caster’s total Mana Capacity. The higher the mana capacity, the greater the damage.

Arthur currently possessed 50,000 points in his Mana Attribute, which provided him with 500,000 damage. This was ten times his Mana Attribute, whereas physical damage only received a fivefold multiplier from Strength.

The reason was simple. Mana was consumed during battle, and mages could only continue fighting for as long as their mana reserves lasted. Once their mana was depleted, they had to wait for it to recharge.

Boom!

The dark crimson flames erupted like a nuclear mushroom cloud, instantly engulfing thousands of monsters. Their bodies vanished within the raging fire, leaving nothing behind.

Eternal Hellfire was a unique flame that would not extinguish until it had consumed all the vitality of its target. Unless the target possessed a higher-grade spell, infinite vitality, or severed the organ being burned, death was inevitable.

The flame inflicted 0.5% damage every second. With Arthur’s current 500,000 Mana Capacity, the damage was equivalent to 2,500 points per second against a target as his magical damage was 500,000 right now.

Arthur was genuinely enjoying the fight.

Until now, he had relied almost entirely on physical combat. His previous life as an assassin had ingrained close-range combat into his muscle memory and instincts after a decade of constant fighting.

"Mages aren’t bad. They just need to make sure the enemy can’t approach them," he thought.

Most mages needed to invest nearly all their attributes into Mana to maximize their spell damage. This made them extremely powerful at range, but it also meant they could become vulnerable if an enemy managed to close the distance.

"But with an Absolute Zero-type domain, who the fuck would even dare approach me? And even if they do, what can they possibly do to me?"

Arthur grinned.

Then he thought of Mirage’s Reality Manipulation.

He had always felt that there was something unusual about this skill. Compared to the other abilities he had acquired, it seemed absurdly overpowered.

With Reality Manipulation, he could turn fantasy into reality and reality into fantasy.

"Is this really as overpowered as it feels?" he wondered.

"Let’s try it."

As soon as the thought formed in his mind, Arthur attempted to create a small monkey inside his domain.

It was surprisingly easy.

A small monkey appeared before him.

Arthur then tried increasing its size. The monkey’s body rapidly expanded, transforming into a powerful ape.

"Go. Fight."

The ape immediately charged toward a monster that had entered the domain.

Arthur had granted the ape a Strength Attribute equivalent to 1,000 points. Its physical power was therefore immense compared to the common monsters inhabiting the shelter.

Boom!

The ape punched a nearby monster.

The impact sent the monster flying through the air. It crashed into the ground and died instantly, its 2,000 HP completely depleted.

"Holy shit..."

Arthur’s mind went blank.

He had created a creature with 1,000 Strength simply by imagining it into existence.

He immediately tried creating more apes of similar strength.

One appeared.

Then another.

He continued until there were nine apes standing around him.

At that moment, a sharp throb of pain spread through his head.

Arthur stopped.

"That’s the limit for now?"

He quickly understood the situation. Using the skill consumed very little mana, only ten mana per second, but the actual manipulation of reality depended on his Soul and Spirit.

His current Spirit Value was not strong enough to sustain more than nine apes of that power.

Arthur canceled the other eight apes and focused on the first one.

He attempted to increase its size.

The ape’s body expanded until it stood fifteen feet tall, resembling a miniature version of King Kong.

Arthur tried to increase its power proportionally to its height at the same time.

The original five-foot ape possessed 1,000 Strength, and now with it’s 15 feet height, it’s strength was now 3,000 and Arthur could not increase its power any further.

"So there is a limit to how much I can strengthen a creation. The skill has really has some limits, or else it is actually a skill of the real gods."

He nodded thoughtfully.

While Arthur was busy experimenting, several monsters had already approached from behind. They attempted to sneak up on him while his attention was focused on the ape.

"Hmph! Can’t you see I’m busy? Don’t interrupt."

As soon as he spoke, the Corrosive Domain of Sand Abyss and Plague’s Toxic Decay ability activated simultaneously.

The approaching monsters were instantly corroded and killed.

Arthur glanced at the ape before making it dissolve into nothingness.

He now had a general idea of what he could create with his current level of power.

But what about turning reality into fantasy?

Arthur looked at a rotten monster that had entered his perception.

"You are nothing but a small mouse."

He pressed his divine thought onto the poor monster.

Instantly, the monster transformed into a mouse.

Before Arthur could observe the result, another monster stomped on the tiny creature and killed it.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"I’ll have to practice this skill more often. It should also steadily increase my Spirit Value. After all, it’s a God Rank skill."

He was genuinely happy.

The possibilities of Reality Manipulation were far beyond what he had initially imagined. Even a simple thought could alter the world around him, and he had only begun to explore its potential.

However, after experimenting with his abilities for a while, Arthur gradually grew bored.

He had already tested several of his most powerful skills.

Now, it was time to end this.

"Divine Judgement Lightning."